President begs India not to punish Pakistan after attacks

Published on Monday 1 December 2008 09:06

PAKISTAN president Asif Ali Zardari has appealed to India not to punish his country for last week's attacks in Mumbai, saying militants have the power to precipitate a war in the region.

Mr Zardari, whose wife, Benazir Bhutto, was assassinated by Islamist militants last year, warned that provocation by rogue "non-state actors" posed the danger of a return to war between the neighbours, who are both armed with nuclear weapons.

Analysts say the Mumbai assaults by Islamist militants, which killed 183 people, bore the hallmarks of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based group blamed for previous attacks in India, but in an interview, Mr Zardari asked: "Even if the militants are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba, who do you think we are fighting?"

"We must all stand together to fight out this menace."

&#149 A suicide car-bomber killed eight people today in an attack aimed at a military checkpost in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley, military officials said.